briefly united a divided country, rallied around the flag and these women in new york, los angeles, afghanistan. and here in frankfurt. where tangelo calhoun led her friends and family from the u.s. garrison in titleburg in the classic cheer. soccer, long an international favorite, enthralled america in what's been a miserable summer for sports. >> the nfl and the nba have been locked out. baseball is going with the roger clemens' mistrial. and this is something americans can see and feel proud of these women going out there and playing for the purity of the sport and winning. >> reporter: but the champions would be japan, a country still reeling from an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. a victory that came in the middle of the night, and gave a weary nation a reason to celebrate. even in japan, few people thought their team would make it to the finals, let alone bring home the cup by defeating the number-one team in the world. ann? >> anne thompson, thank you very much for your report. i'm glad you got all of that team usa paint off of your face. that's good. >> i was in the newsroom y